A year ago, with good intentions and a clear vision, I declared that I was going to resume posting in this space, making it a routine part of my life again. I posted twice in March of 2020 and have a third post for that month sitting in my draft queue; otherwise, nothing, nada... crickets. By mid-March 2020 I was furloughed from my part-time employment, I was sheltered in place, and the world seemed to be paused. Life seemed to be paused. Of course, that is not exactly accurate as life truly did continue, just not the life that I was accustomed to, that I had crafted for myself, that I had envisioned continuing to craft. World events continued to come fast and furious throughout the year and I have been left feeling as though I have trudged through the desert. I feel desiccated. I feel tired and, frequently, discouraged. The year tested friendships and has even strained familial ties. I have been stunned by the degree of judgement and vitriol that has circulated in my little world throughout the year. It has left me feeling vulnerable. Not wanting to expose myself to potential condemnation I contemplated getting rid of this very personal, yet very public, space.  I have struggled to feel inspired and have been unable to hold tight to a clear vision of where I am going, let alone the role that this blog could play in that journey. In my most depleted moments I was certain that I would not persist in presenting my life and accompanying thoughts in such a public way, yet my heart keeps wandering back to this little space that I have created. When I peruse the memories and thoughts encapsulated in this space I feel joy and peace; I feel that it is special. It feels as though I have created my own little nest. I am not ready to give it up.  I also find that I have missed the process of writing.  I enjoy memorializing the little bits that comprise my life and mulling over thoughts and ideas and beliefs.  I enjoy revisiting those expressed thoughts, ideas, beliefs and memories and making note of changes and growth. So I have determined to keep this space, to nurture it, and to protect it. I am determined to find my voice again, to rehydrate and reanimate. And I remind myself that a trek through the desert is oftentimes a necessary part of a journey; it is an adventure of its own. If I am keen on observing I find that the desert has its own beauty. Additionally, the desert stands in distinct contrast to the lush abundance of the verdant fields that comprise the rest of my life.

Taking Notice

"Go outside.  Don't tell anyone and don't bring your phone.  Start walking and keep walking until you no longer know the road like the palm of your hand, because we walk the same roads day in and day out, to the bus and back home and we cease to see.  We walk in our sleep and teach our muscles to work without thinking and I dare you to walk where you have not yet walked and I dare you to notice.  Don't try to get anything out of it, because you won't. Don't try to make use of it, because you can't.  And thats the point.  Just walk, see, sit down if you like.  And be.  Just be, whatever you are with whatever you have, and realise that that is enough to be happy.  There's a whole world out there, right outside your window.  You'd be a fool to miss it."  -Charlotte Eriksson

A friend posted this on Facebook this morning and it resonated with me.  It, in many ways, embodies the spirit with which I have attempted to live life and raise my children.  The description of this blog, from its inception, has been "From the time my youngest children were wee ones I have encouraged my family to view life as a grand adventure.  Life may consist of a series of small and seemingly mundane activities yet when viewed through the lens of possibility and opportunity life becomes a grand adventure."  Charlotte Eriksson's advice can be taken literally and I am all for that.  I love taking different routes to familiar places or seeking out new places and unfamiliar experiences to acquaint myself with.  Her words, however, can also be lived out in spirit.  There may be a path we walk routinely but when "viewed through the lens of possibility and opportunity," when recognized as "the whole world out there, right outside your window" and "you'd be a fool to miss it," that path can become varied and exciting, it can inform us and inspire us.

There is a path that our family has routinely traversed for nearly a decade.  This path has delighted us with many wonders when we have traversed it with awareness and curiosity.  We have met a groundhog that had made its home near the railroad tracks.  We observed an enormous oak tree drop thousands of acorns to the delight of dozens of squirrels actively preparing for winter.  We have observed the perpetually green magnolia tree during all the seasons.  We have seen its velvety seed pods burst so as to release its bright red seeds.  We have seen hundreds of little icicles form on the tree's green leaves and have heard them tinkle through those same iced leaves as the icicles have broken free.  We have listened to the male cardinal serenade his lover, seen the fairy circles of mushrooms, and felt the warm sun and the bitter wind on our skin.

We have walked this path as individuals, alone with our personal observations and thoughts.

We have walked it as a family engaged in lively conversation, having our curiosity piqued and pondering all the deep thoughts.

We have walked this same path hundreds of times yet each time has been different, the path offering up something unique for us to be a part of if we care to "notice" and "just be."  If we care to view this routinely taken path through the "lens of possibility and opportunity" it becomes part of our grand adventure.

Reset. Refocus. Restart.

This precious little space has been neglected for far too long - a paltry twenty-eight entries over the last two years.  These last couple of years have been doozies.  So much has happened.  So much has changed.  Life has required that I stay intently focused. And, emotionally there have been challenges, things to wrestle with, a new path to forge and, oh, so much more.

The last couple of years have been monumental and I will regret not having them properly documented.  I may try getting updated in some way, shape, or form but that is not imperative, I suppose.  I shall start where I am at right now.  I will create a vision for this space that is reflective of this stage of my life.

I have now graduated all of my kiddos and all are moving on into the adult world, finding their paths, fulfilling their purposes.  As is necessitated, our relationships have shifted - what is required of me, as mom, is different.  And, I have been left to sort out what is the next step for me.  I now move further into the adult world, finding my path, and further fulfilling my purposes.

I have been busy examining my interests and skills, things that have been developed over the years, and figuring out how they fit my present life.  Many of my interests are revealed within this blog, particularly educational philosophies, creating a lifestyle of learning, managing a household and finances, and living a frugal life so that funds can be directed towards dreams.  These are themes that are recurring throughout this blog and these are ideas that I would like to continue to pursue.  With that, I have decided to separate out the household and financial management from the educational/lifestyle of learning.  

Months ago, I began an Instagram page, A Life Edited and Curated (@alifeeditedandcurated), and will at some point create a related website for it.  The declared purpose of this IG page is, "defining and refining my life: editing that which serves as an impediment to actualizing dreams and highlighting that which is personally valued."  There is a heavy emphasis on editing finances and belongings, managing time and resources so that I can position myself to live the life I desire to live. 

And, this precious, precious space that has been a platform for me to figure out what I believed about learning and how that was translated into the way our family lives, will continue to serve that purpose.  It will allow me to continue to document the happenings of our family.  It will allow me to continue pondering questions related to learning.  It will allow me to distill all that I learned while homeschooling and allow me to present it in a way that might prove helpful to others.  It will allow me to consider deeply the ways in which homeschooling has impacted me and how lessons learned as a homeschooling mom guide me through this next stage of life.  

I'll see you again soon!

An International Experience Right Here in the Ozarks

What an experience!!!

Christian and I attended the Marian Days festival in Carthage, MO!

 This annual Roman Catholic event to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary is the largest Vietnamese pilgrimage in America. Carthage, which has a population of 15,000, hosts 70,000-80,000 people each year. The festival itself is hosted by the Congregation of the Mother of the Redeemer. They have been hosting this event since 1978, yet most Missourians are unaware of it. I stumbled upon it while researching areas in which the Ozarks intersect with the broader international community for Ozark International Outreach. Christian and I attended as representatives of Ozark International Outreach but were personally enriched as we experienced sights and sounds that were unfamiliar to us. And there was food everywhere, authentic Vietnamese food!!! It was an amazing experience a mere one hour from home. I must attend again!

A Quiet but Monumental Day

Today, May 21 2019, is a monumental day for our family.  It may not appear that way from the outside.  It came and went with no hoopla, no fanfare, only a bit of a nod.  The day is momentous, nonetheless.  Today marks the final official day of our family's homeschooling adventure, a sixteen year adventure.  Below are the students of Libertas Academy - Christian, Class of 2007; Keegan, Class of 2008; Maceo, Class of 2018; and Bishop, Class of 2019.  The final picture is my first graduate and final graduate giving that nod to an end of an era.

Christian, Keegan, Maceo and Bishop, it has truly been my honor and my joy to have had the opportunity to learn alongside of you!

I love you all and, Keegan and Maceo, I'll have to treat you to Andy's in July.

(More soon, I promise!)

Frugal Accomplishments: A Very Brief Update

Christmas.  New Years.  A Funeral. 

Life is coming at me fast and furious.  As is often the case when life gets to moving so quickly, I have failed to post routinely.  But now I am back and ready to go.  Obviously I won't be able to share all of my frugal accomplishments but I do have some good ones to share with you.

I am really quite pleased with my Christmas-related frugal accomplishments.  I will share those accomplishments with you in a separate post.

I have also challenged myself to No Spend 2019.  I have my own unique parameters and goals.  This, too, will get it's own post.

So what is left to post here?  Hmmm....let's see...

-The hubby and I were successful with staying within our agreed upon grocery budget of $600 per month.  I would like to see this amount come down a little bit but having grocery-related restrictions is new to the hubby and is difficult for him so I will settle for this amount and consider it a success when we stay within this amount.  I should clarify that this amount does cover household and hygiene items in addition to food items.

-After having such wonderful success keeping my Christmas expenses down by using Amazon gift cards earned through Swagbucks I am intent on working Swagbucks this year and finding other similar ways to earn some cashola.  I have signed on to several other survey sites and am using some apps that involve uploading my receipts.  I have already earned enough swagbucks to get a $10 Amazon gift card.  And I have more than $60 between the other sites.  I am not one to spend a ton of time doing these sorts of things.  I have many other things that I need to accomplish so I am just intent on working them slow and steady.  I am finding that some are more natural for me to use than others.  I will do a post reviewing these sites a bit later.

-Another little thing that I have done is to sign up for free stuff.  Just little free stuff.  It's a fun little hobby that doesn't cost me a thing, well, maybe a little time.  (Again, I guard my time pretty carefully so I only put in minimal effort).  I have already received three packages of free stuff and it's a little like Christmas receiving those packages.  The first was cat and dog food.  There was enough food in those samples to feed my pets two meals and they gave me coupons.  I have received a package with a travel size deodorant and some gum which, of course, will come in handy at some point.  And, finally, I received the little package below which will be wonderful in the hubby's stocking next year.  It's fun, it's easy, it's free!

-I really prefer to have a well-stocked "pantry"; one that is full of food, household and hygiene items and even gifts.  Presently my supplies are low and I really want to change that - intentionally, incrementally.  As we were down to samples of toothpaste given to us by the dentist (note: the boys had the toothpaste that was in their stockings but the hubby and I were not so fortunate to receive such a prize in our stockings) I decided to focus on household and hygiene items.  I have been working CVS.  At this point in time all my purchases have fit in our grocery budget; I really hope that I don't go over.  I have been doing a great job though.  Twice I have made purchases in which the balance due was $0.  Yup, $0.  I literally got two tubes of toothpaste, two bottles of conditioner and a large bottle of dish soap with $0 out of pocket.  I now have us well stocked on shampoo and conditioner and reasonably stocked on razors, toothpaste and laundry detergent.  I really need to get a good stock of toilet paper and dish soap so I'm going to keep working.

-Unfortunately, I had to travel nearly a thousand miles for a funeral.  Anticipating the new year I knew that this trip would happen at some point this year; however, I was not prepared for it to happen so early in the year.  There is never a good time for these sorts of things but this moment was really not the best financially - property taxes were due, entry fees for Bishop's art shows and college application fees were needing paid, there was a birthday and we were just coming off of Christmas.  Fortunately, I did not overextend us during Christmas and I found ways to keep the travel expenses down.  We took that trip and still paid the property taxes on time.  Here are some things that I did.  I packed all of the on-the-road meals.  I boiled eggs and made mini muffins for our breakfasts.  I packed sandwich fixings for our other meals.  All the candy from our Christmas stockings and such were packed for snacks.   The funeral service was scheduled for 9 am and the gravesite portion of the service was an hour away from the church so I knew that we wouldn't have a good chance to eat if we didn't eat first thing in the morning so I baked some chocolate quick bread and some mini quiches and packed some fruit.  It worked out really well and held us over until the family dinner at 3:30.  Everything worked out really well and saved us a lot of money.  I do wish that I had thrown a case of water in the vehicle as we did purchase two bottles of water at convenience stores on the way there and then again on the way back.  We could have had an entire case of water for less then those four bottles of water cost me.

The Monetary Worth of My Work

Yesterday I spent time scouring the CVS weekly sales ad, my collection of coupons, the digital coupons clipped to my CVS card, and various apps, such as Ibotta and creating a shopping strategy that would get the family some items that are needed (or will be needed in the future) at rock bottom prices.  While I was strategizing I had videos playing on Swagbucks earning me some points.  Also while strategizing, I munched on some free food at my corner bakery.  It was a pleasant enough way to begin a day and when all was said and done I saved the family at least $40 and earned $1.  (Just a note:  when I say that I saved money I am referring to the top dollar that I would have spent on those items, not the amount that the store said I saved which would have been significantly higher.  For instance, I got my toothpaste for free.  CVS originally had this toothpaste marked at nearly $5.  I never would have paid that.  It was on sale for $3.  I rarely would pay that.  For the size of tube that I purchased I would have a target price of $2 or less.  By getting it free I saved $2).  The strategizing and shopping took less than three hours.  If I calculate my hourly "wage" using three hours than I was "earned" $13.67 per hour.  If I calculate it based on a full work days hours than I "earned" $5 per hour which doesn't sound quite as good and it is obvious that the $13.67 "wage" is not sustainable and consistent when trying to convert what I do into a "wage".
Why am I even doing this?
It is easy to undervalue all the efforts of the household manager.
It is easy to undervalue all of the efforts made by those attempting to make frugal choices.
Money saved, however, is akin to money earned and it is good to keep this in mind and to know that the choices that are made and the effort that is put forth has value, true tangible value.
Yesterday my efforts netted $41 for my family.  If I were to do that everyday than I would have "made" $1200 for my family by the end of the month.
Some days, however, I will not hit that mark but other days I will far exceed that.
Here are some examples of what I have done to "earn" money for my family recently.

-Friday I was reviewing our bank records and found that there was an error that impacted both of my bank accounts.  I went by the local bank on Friday and addressed the issue.  They have reimbursed my account $40.  Today I will call the other bank and, hopefully, will get them to reimburse $63.

-We were going to lose some of our income as our youngest child was turning 18 unless he was still in high school, which he is.  However, because he is homeschooled it was required that I produce a transcript, course descriptions and curriculum lists.  It took me two days to organize this information in a way communicated efficiently what they needed.  These efforts paid off.  This income will continue until the end of May.  Two days of intense effort will net $4500.

-Prior to leaving on our trip to New Mexico for a funeral I made quick bread, boiled eggs, mini quiches and I purchased bread, bologna, and fruit.  By buying about $7 worth of food and preparing what I had at home I insured that we wouldn't eat on the road and that we wouldn't feel the need to swing by fast food on the day of the funeral between the service and the cemetery but before the family dinner.  We would have spent at least $50 if I hadn't done this.  I saved us, and, thus, earned, $43.

-Prior to the trip I was fortunate to have a friend who was willing to change my oil for me.  This cost me $45 and I typically spend $125 to get my oil changed.  I also researched how to change my windshield wipers on my own and how to replace my headlight on my own.  I spent $100 on the necessary supplies.  The guys at the auto store ended up putting on my wipers for me at no charge and after failing at putting the headlight in on my own (a stubborn screw stood between me and success, ugh) that friend rescued me and changed it for me.  I don't know how much, exactly, was saved by not going to the dealer to have these things done, I can only guess based on what other people have told me that they have paid.  I would say that I had $250 worth of work done for $145.  That would mean that my efforts and determination to insource "earned" me $105.

Over the last three weeks my efforts have "earned" $4,792 (assuming I am successful with the bank today).  And, of course, this isn't even all of my efforts.  It doesn't include the impact that the plastic I have put over the windows, turning off lights behind everyone, and being the one who makes sure the thermostat is turned down at night will have on our utility bill.  It doesn't include my efforts to pack Bishop's lunch that he eats during history class when I used to swing by a drive-thru on the way to class.  It doesn't include the $60 I have earned in the last three weeks on survey sites and Ibotta and such.  And the list goes on and on.

The efforts to make wise frugal choices truly does pay off!